REPORT of the COMMITTEE OF VISITORS Division of Astronomical Sciences National Science Foundation

As was the previous COV, this committee was deeplyimpressed by the complex array of responsibilities undertaken by each individualProgram Officer.The COV recommends that the Division be

REPORT of the COMMITTEE OF VISITORS Division of Astronomical Sciences National Science Foundation February 22-24, 2005 March 14, 2005

COMMITTEE

Dr J Craig Wheeler, Univ of Texas - Austin, Chair

Dr Christopher G De Pree, Agnes Scott College

Dr Ian P Dell’Antonio, Brown University

Dr Matthew A Greenhouse, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Dr Kelsey Johnson, University of Virginia

Dr Robert V Kohn, Courant Institute

Dr Alan Marscher, Boston University

Dr Colin Norman, Johns Hopkins University

Dr M Sally Oey, University of Michigan

Dr Simon Plunkett, Naval Research Laboratory

Dr Keivan Stassun, Vanderbilt University

Dr James W Truran, University of Chicago

Dr Robert V Wagoner, Stanford University

Dr Charles E Woodward, University of Minnesota

CONTENTS

Page

II.

Part A Integrity and Efficiency of the Program’s Processes and Management 29 Part B Results: Outputs and Outcomes of NSF Investments 36

I Introduction and Executive Summary

The Committee of Visitors (COV) to the Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST) met

at NSF on 22-24 February 2005 The written charge to the COV had been given by Dr.Michael Turner, Assistant Director for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), andincluded the following topics to be addressed:

 The integrity and efficacy of processes used to solicit, review, recommend, anddocument proposal actions;

 The quality and significance of the results of the Division's programmaticinvestments;

 The relationship between award decisions, program goals, and Foundation-wideprograms and strategic goals;

 The Division's balance, priorities, and future directions;

 The Division's response to the prior COV report of 2002; and

 Any other issues that the COV feels are relevant to the review

In response to these charges, the COV found that the processes used to solicit, review,recommend, and document proposal actions were done with the highest level of integrity,both with respect to the sensitivities of the proposers and to the merit of the science Thecommittee took special note of the care with which thorough summaries of proposalevaluations and decisions were documented by the Program Officers

The Division has supported some of the most exciting astrophysical research done in thisespecially active three-year period The Division currently engages in a continuousrebalancing of its mission in response to community input and priorities The COVenthusiastically endorses this dynamic allocation

The Division has set high goals for scientific accomplishment within the AST program, inFoundation-wide programs and in complex new intra-agency and international initiatives.The COV found that the awards of the last three years were commensurate withsupporting the present programs and those necessary to address the goals of the strategicplans of the Division

The COV spent substantial time discussing the balance, priorities, and future directions ofthe Division The primary recommendations in this regard are summarized here:

Management

The COV was thoroughly convinced that the Division is doing an excellent job in anincreasingly complex and challenging scientific and operational environment The COV

was impressed with the current leadership of the Division under the Division Directorand the Executive Officer As was the previous COV, this committee was deeplyimpressed by the complex array of responsibilities undertaken by each individualProgram Officer.

The COV recommends that the Division be given positions for additional scientific personnel in order to decrease the workload currently imposed on Division staff, to ensure adequate oversight and program management, and to allow progress on new programs and projects being generated in the community.

Strategic Planning and Implementation

The COV emphasizes that building the capacity of the astronomical community to realizethe full scientific potential of new facilities is as important as building the facilitiesthemselves The COV thus recommends that, as the Division pursues the facilities

priorities of the Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millennium (AANM) report, it

respond with equal vigor to the capacity-building priorities that are also articulated

therein The COV agrees that the issue of future balance must be a principal goal of the

proposed Senior Review

The COV strongly supports the planned Senior Review as the proper next step in the planning process.

The COV recommends that the Division continue to identify and lead development of

appropriate joint interagency initiatives

The COV recommends that the Senior Review focus on establishing a sustainable balanced program that is driven by science inquiry rather than the current wavelength-based structure.

The COV endorses the Division’s new strategic plan to build a sustainable program using a community-based process that considers the scientific merits of extant facilities and programs as well as the advances that can be realized with new instruments and other initiatives.

The COV strongly concurs with the recommendation of the AANM report and the conclusion of the Division that the AST grants program (AAG) should be maintained

at or above its current funding level despite the severe budget pressure presented by ALMA and other proposed large facilities.

The COV recommends that the Division continue to aggressively pursue its approach

to the priority initiatives of the AANM report with a flexible, balanced response This response should both advance the development of facilities and take advantage of opportunities associated with the scientific goals of those facilities to increase support for grants by means articulated in the AANM Decadal Survey and appropriate to the Division.

The COV encourages the Division to aggressively defend the spectrum allocations for scientific research and to expand efforts to keep the astronomical community apprised

of critical issues.

Education, Training, and Outreach

The Division has been notably successful in leveraging the Foundation-wide CAREER,REU, and RUI programs to support education, training, and outreach At the same time,other Foundation-wide programs for developing the capacity of graduate students toutilize new skills and techniques (e.g., IGERT) have gone completely unutilized by theAST community The COV thus encourages active communication of the diverse array ofavailable programs to the community

The COV recommends that the Division continue and expand its leadership role in fostering the next generation of scientists poised to take full advantage of new facilities

The COV recommends that the Division continue to explore ways to unify and expand the EPO efforts within and across observatory enterprises.

II Schedule and Process

In the absence of Dr Turner, Dr Judy Sunley, Executive Officer for MPS, welcomed theCOV members to NSF and Dr Wayne Van Citters, AST Division Director, reviewed thecharge to the COV Dr Morris Aizenman (Senior Science Associate, MPS) briefed theCOV on conflicts of interest and confidentiality, and introduced the COV reportingrequirements, including the relation to the Government Performance and Results Act(GPRA) Dr Eileen Friel, Executive Officer, AST, outlined the COV procedures Thiswas followed by an overview of the AST Division programs, organization, and staff by

Dr Van Citters

The AST Grants Programs were described by Dr Vernon Pankonin (Coordinator of theResearch Grants Unit) The COV then moved to another location to review individualgrants programs and activities in two consecutive sessions The first session covered thefour scientific themes of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Grants The secondsession reviewed the variety of AST-specific and NSF- or MPS-wide special programs.Each session started with a series of brief introductions by the cognizant ProgramDirectors, followed by the examination of proposal and award “jackets” in that program.The grant programs reviewed were:

* Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Grants - thematic areas

 Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology – Dr Nigel Sharp,

 Stellar Astronomy and Astrophysics – Dr Michael Briley,

 Galactic Astronomy – Dr Randy Phelps,

 Planetary Astronomy – Dr Vernon Pankonin,

 Education and Special Programs – Dr Randy Phelps and Dr Eileen Friel,

* Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship Program - Dr Dana Lehr

* Particle Astrophysics – Dr Vernon Pankonin,

* Foundation-wide programs – Dr Nigel Sharp,

 Instrumentation Programs

* Advanced Technologies & Instrumentation/ Major Research Instrumentation –

Dr Andrew Clegg

* Program for Research and Education with Small Telescopes – Dr Craig Foltz

The review covered all proposal and award actions made during FY2002, 2003, and

2004 Sample proposal “jackets” for each of the AST program elements were examined

in these sessions The jackets had been screened by the Executive Officer to avoidconflicts of interest amongst COV members A total of 318 jackets were reviewed,representing 12% of the proposal and award actions

During a working lunch on the first day, Dr Van Citters presented the AST strategicplanning that is currently underway in the Division He reviewed the many communityrecommendations for future facilities and programs and the resources needed to realizethem, placed them in the context of the NSF planning process for large facilities anddiscussed AST-initiated community planning and roadmapping activities The financialrequirements for the construction and operation of future large facilities contrast sharplywith the resources available in the current and projected NSF and AST budget Dr VanCitters introduced the COV to the “Senior Review” AST plans to carry out that willexamine the current and future balance in the AST portfolio appropriate to makingadequate progress on new facilities in the light of their impact on existing programs Hereviewed the process the Division planned to use in establishing the options forconsideration by a senior review and the mechanisms to be used to obtain communityinput and invited the COV to comment on these plans

The second day was devoted to review of the observatory facilities in the AST portfolio.

An overview of each facility was presented by its Program Manager, and discussion withthe COV followed The morning focused on presentations of the radio facilities:

 University Radio Observatories – Dr Richard Barvainis,

 National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center – Dr Richard Barvainis,

 National Radio Astronomy Observatory – Dr Andrew Clegg,

 Atacama Large Millimeter Array – Dr Robert Dickman,

 Electromagnetic Spectrum Management – Dr Tomas Gergely

In the afternoon, the optical/infrared observatory facilities were reviewed:

 National Optical Astronomy Observatories – Dr Craig Foltz,

 National Solar Observatory – Dr Craig Foltz,

 Gemini Observatory – Dr Wayne Van Citters

Dr Michael Turner joined the Committee for lunch and informal discussion on thesecond day of the meeting

The third day was spent in committee discussion and preparation of a draft of this report.The COV met with members of the Office of the Assistant Director (Michael Turner,Judy Sunley, Adriaan de Graaf) in the afternoon of the third day for a discussion of theCommittee’s primary conclusions and recommendations

The COV was impressed with the work that had gone into preparing the materials andpresentations for the meeting The quality of the presentations and the enthusiasm withwhich they were presented were uniformly high The staff were cooperative and flexible

in responding to the needs and queries of the committee The presentations outlined agreat range of undertakings and accomplishments in terms of scientific development, newinstrumentation, new facilities, and training and public outreach The presentations alsoeffectively communicated the challenges facing the Division The exchanges with theDirector, Executive Officer, and Program Officers were open and cooperative

The COV was impressed with the openness and complexity of the NSF COV process and

is convinced of the value of the process to both the NSF and the science community

The following sections summarize the observations and recommendations from the COVreview of the AST Division, including comments on the response of the Division to the

2002 COV report The appended document contains the responses to the core questionsand report template for FY2005 COV reviews provided by NSF

III Science Highlights

The three years covered by this COV yielded an array of exciting scientificdevelopments Principal among these was the continued explosion of interest in the deepissues associated with the accelerating Universe and the presumed “dark energy” that

drives it The evidence for acceleration was first obtained by programs using NOAOfacilities at KPNO and CTIO CTIO continues to host one of the major follow-upprograms that seek to better constrain the nature of the “dark energy.” The observationalbasis for the acceleration has become ever more solid with a concordance model of aUniverse filled about 2/3 with dark energy, about 1/3 with gravitating dark matter, andonly a smattering of the baryonic matter that has been the traditional focus of astronomy,not to say human life This concordance has arisen from joint observational studies ofsupernovae, the cosmic microwave background, and other techniques such as galaxyclustering and gravitational lensing, all of which the Division was instrumental insupporting There is no explanation for this acceleration in the Standard Model ofphysics, so this issue is one that transcends a given field, and is of high import to basicphysics as well as astronomy and cosmology A recent response to the immensechallenges of understanding the universal acceleration has been the formation by theDivision of the multi-agency Dark Energy Task Force that will study the prospects forexperimental and theoretical progress on this problem

The Division supported the Cosmic Background Imager (CBI) experiment in Chile that

was an important precursor to the WMAP satellite The astounding results from

measurements of the cosmic background radiation have not only added to theconcordance model, but have strikingly confirmed the fundamental nature of slightirregularities in the Universe that arose from primordial quantum fluctuations to developall the large scale structure observed in the contemporary Universe The Division isleading the CMB roadmap process that has recently produced a draft report

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey and other large surveys enabled by Division investmentrevealed distant quasars showing that reionization was substantially complete by red shift

of six, in striking contrast with the beginning of the process at a much larger redshift, assuggested by the WMAP data These surveys also showed direct evidence for early andon-going galaxy mergers, a key aspect of galaxy evolution

Black hole research has continued to be a dominant topic, from stellar mass black holes

in binary systems to supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies Of especiallygreat interest was the establishment of a link between the black hole mass and thevelocity dispersion and the mass of the galactic bulge This implies a deep connectionbetween galaxy formation and the central black holes

On a smaller scale, but also with attendant great scientific excitement, the field of

extrasolar planets continued to progress on both observational and theoretical fronts The

Division supports the major U.S planet-searching teams Well over 100 planets havebeen identified The quest is now to find lower mass planets with terrestrial mass planets

that could host life being the ultimate goal Discovering multiple planets in single solarsystems is a forefront topic as is research to understand the dramatic departures of theextra-solar systems from our own Solar System in terms of the mass, the distancedistribution, and eccentricities of the planets.

IV AST Division Management

A General Comments

By the end of the meeting, the COV was thoroughly convinced that the Division is doing

an excellent job in an increasingly complex and challenging scientific and operationalenvironment Attention to management of the staff and their duties has yielded a veryefficient enterprise with the staff involved in many interrelated tasks that they accomplishwith great energy and commitment There is concern that the staff is not sufficiently largefor the tasks now and certainly for the planned future growth of facilities and the science

to be done with them The Division is doing an excellent job of trying to foresee andmanage that growth, but there are great challenges coming, as we address below

B Management of the Division

The COV was impressed with the leadership of the Division under the Division Directorand the Executive Officer The Division has taken great steps to maximize the efficiencyand effectiveness of the staff The Division leadership has reorganized and refocused thestaff effort to respond to the evolving needs of the community Internal staff workinggroups for grants, facilities and instrumentation have been organized to more fully utilizeall the talent in the Division and to coordinate uniform treatment of management issues.The COV takes this as good evidence of the proactive efforts of the Division Even inadvance of NSF-wide implementation of the recommendations of the Booze-Allen report,the Division has planned for and implemented changes in the management of theprogram that are necessary for handling the increasingly varied Division portfolio Inaddition, the Division Director laid out a clearly defined management plan and a visionfor future evolution of the organizational structure from a traditional linear structure toone in which there are efficiently over-lapping areas of interest and responsibility

C Staffing Issues

This COV, like the one in 2002, and the one before that, notes that the Division isunderstaffed The Division has made important progress in filling positions that were

vacant at the time of the 2002 COV, but the problem remains severe The Division isunique within NSF in that a large fraction of the Division funding (of order 2/3) and staff-hours are related to the oversight of four major research facilities and two internationalpartnerships (Gemini, ALMA) The increased complexity, cost, and international nature

of facilities now supported within the Division, combined with requirements forenhanced assessment activities associated with the individual grants programs, placesgreat strain on the staff’s ability to manage the portfolio effectively During this period,the implementation of the electronic jacket and other business tools effectively shiftedmany administrative tasks to the Program Officers Program Officers have multipleassignments and limited travel funds The COV noted that these conditions limit thedegree of direct oversight of facilities through site visits to a less than optimum value.The high quality of current oversight of grants and facilities has only been due to thededication and significant hard work of the current staff, which has remarkably highmorale given their workload This workload threatens to have a negative impact on thequality of management and scientific output of the facilities

The COV recommends that the Division be given positions for additional scientific personnel in order to decrease the workload currently imposed on Division staff, to ensure adequate oversight and program management, and to allow progress on new programs and projects being generated in the community.

V Strategic Planning and Implementation

A General Comments

Because of the long, successful history of astronomy decadal surveys, the strength of theastronomy strategic planning is recognized within the NSF The Division is proceedingwith the assumption that strategic planning must be driven by the science and that well-enunciated, potentially transformational science will sell the program The Divisionrecognizes that rational decisions about implementations require an understanding of thecomplex trade space that involves capability, cost, time-to-realization, and risk TheDivision understands that substantial investment must be made to characterize this tradespace and that this investment must be made with no commitment to proceed with agiven project The COV endorses this approach to strategic planning

The Director was assiduous in laying out his strategy for future planning In his

presentation on this topic, he outlined the context of the Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millennium (AANM, the most recent decadal survey) report that presents

scientific priorities derived from wide community consultation No other scientificdivision in the NSF is so strongly guided by this community-based, prioritized input TheDivision then works closely with the National Research Council Committee onAstronomy and Astrophysics (CAA) to implement the report recommendations.Recently, the Division has also been guided by the strategic plan for combined federalresearch in physics and astronomy as summarized in the Office of Science and

Technology Policy (OSTP) Physics of the Universe report The Astronomy and

Astrophysics Advisory Committee (AAAC) was formed to oversee this multi-agencyinitiative to coordinate first NSF, NASA, and OSTP involvement and then, effectiveMarch 15, 2005, DOE

This sets the context for the strategic planning of the Division: it must respond to thepriorities of the science and community-driven AANM report in the context of a multi-agency coordinated effort From the Division’s perspective, a program that is sustainablefor the long term must be built on community support, be suitably ambitious with thepromise of transformational science at reasonable cost, be able to maintain communitysupport for periods exceeding a decade, and be commensurate with NSF processes,shaping them if necessary and possible

The Director also outlined the challenges facing the Division that need to be addressed inthe context of this strategic planning He raised the issue of the degree to which a twenty-year strategy is required to guide more near-term plans for new large optical and radiofacilities A particular challenge will be the means to respond to the growing demand forfunds to both operate and do science with large, expensive new facilities To addressissues of current scientific balance, the ambitions of the community, and the budgetoutlook, the Director proposes to convene a Senior Review that, with appropriatecommunity input, will seek to set clear goals and define a process of evaluation that canproduce attainable results based on clearly-defined criteria

The COV strongly supports the planned Senior Review as the proper next step in the planning process.

B Implementing Community Initiatives

The NSF Astronomy Division has done a commendable job in the past three yearsincorporating the long-range vision of the astronomical community (the AANM report)

and the astronomy/physics community (Connecting Quarks with the Cosmos: Eleven Science Questions for the New Century; the Physics of the Universe report) into the long-

range strategic plan of the division The majority of initiatives in the AANM report areeither funded, or in the design/development phase The Division has actively engaged in

a number of creative funding approaches including shared private funding (GSMT) andinternational partnerships (e g Gemini, ALMA) Inter-division coordination for some ofthese projects is required, and the Division has taken very active steps in advancing theseprojects The Division led the chartering and implementation of the Astronomy andAstrophysics Advisory Committee (AAAC) The COV regards this to be a majoraccomplishment The establishment of the AAAC is a crucial step toward thedevelopment of an integrated strategy among NSF, NASA, and DOE for enablingastrophysical research.

The COV examined portions of the portfolio involving interagency cooperativeprograms The COV found that the Division has been creative and has providedleadership in establishing new processes and mechanisms to ensure programmaticsuccess while guarding the interest of the Division and the astronomical community

The COV recommends that the Division continue to identify and lead development of appropriate joint interagency initiatives

C Balance

The Division currently engages in a continuous rebalancing of its mission in response tocommunity input and priorities The COV enthusiastically endorses this dynamicallocation Balance of funding remains a key issue among and within the Astronomy andAstrophysics Grants (AAG) program, the other Research and Instrumentation Grants

programs, and the Facilities programs These issues of balance will become even more

acute in the future as major new facilities are undertaken The division of resources tied

to facilities has an historical basis This division of resources needs to be reviewed and, ifnecessary, corrected periodically by community input followed by a senior review, asrecommended by the AANM report The COV agrees that this issue of future balancemust be a principal goal of the proposed Senior Review

The Division endorsed the recommendation of the AANM report that the optical/IRfacilities be viewed as an integrated system in which the NOAO/Gemini telescopes andprivate university telescopes are viewed as part of an integral whole in terms ofcapabilities The COV appreciated the work of the Division staff to make NOAO and theTSIP/ATI/MRI/PREST instrumentation programs part of an integrated system in terms ofnational research priorities The COV encourages the Division to develop a plan to assesshow this integrated system is meeting scientific and education goals

Approximately two-thirds of the Division’s budget goes toward the operation of thenational optical/IR, radio, and solar facilities and university radio observatories The

remaining one-third provides support for the research and instrumentation programs andthe Division’s participation in NSF-wide initiatives There are currently no transparentscientific criteria to show that this funding profile adequately reflects the relative impact

of science that is carried out in the grants program and by facilities The COV supports

the plans of the Division to task the Senior Review to address this issue of balance to

ensure that funding is allocated among the national facilities in a way that ensuresoptimum scientific return from, and peer-reviewed access to, these valuable assets

The COV recommends that the Senior Review focus on establishing a sustainable balanced program that is driven by science inquiry rather than the current wavelength-based structure.

D The Challenge of New Facilities.

The AANM report recommended several new high priority facilities with very highconstruction and operating costs Within NSF, facility construction appropriations do notinclude funds for operation of the proposed facility These operations costs are dominated

by maintenance costs that are typically incurred long before science activities begin at thenew facility The operations costs cannot be funded by the MREFC facility developmentappropriation and thus fall to the Division This process thus generates an operations lien

on the Division with every new facility start ALMA is one immediate and notableexample The COV supports the Division’s practice of developing accurate operationscosts early in a project and continually assessing them as the project progresses as anessential component of program management and planning

The demands for technology development and for the design and operation of ALMAand other planned facilities such as ATST, GSMT, LSST, and SKA must be a principalconsideration of the Senior Review The COV notes that the estimated operations budgetfor ALMA is comparable in size to the AAG grants program, the budget for NOAO, orthe budget for NRAO It is difficult to understand how operation and maintenanceresources could be obtained by re-allocating funds freed up by closure or re-scopingcurrent Division-supported facilities without severely impacting the commitment of theDivision to fulfill NSF goals While budget problems have been faced throughout thehistory of the Division, the COV notes that the projected US portion of operating costsfor ALMA presents an exceedingly difficult challenge The problem cannot be solved byclosing single instruments, but with a flat budget projection may require more substantialfacility closures The COV supports the request made by the Division to the optical/IRand radio/mm/sub-mm communities to address these challenges under the assumption of

a flat budget

The Division’s plan to meet this challenge and that associated with other proposed largefacilities is to re-balance its overall program to yield cost reductions in other less value-added program areas and to seek growth in the overall program This planning activity isnow among the Division’s most pressing issues, both from a budget perspective and interms of communication of the issues to the science community The Director willpresent the Senior Review panel with multiple options, drafted in consultation with theDivision staff and the Observatory directors The latter will be charged to consult with thebroader community through user’s groups and other mechanisms.

The COV endorses the Division’s new strategic plan to build a sustainable program using a community-based process that considers the scientific merits of extant facilities and programs as well as the advances that can be realized with new instruments and other initiatives.

E The AAG Grants Program

The unrestricted AST Division AAG grants program is unique among those of otheragencies and yields the only funding “eco-niche” for unrestricted, inquiry-basedinitiatives that is available to the US astronomy community The AAG program is alsothe primary source of tangible research results (“nuggets”) that pique the interest of thetaxpayers who invest in that research

The COV strongly concurs with the recommendation of the AANM report and the conclusion of the Division that the AST grants program (AAG) should be maintained

at or above its current funding level despite the severe budget pressure presented by ALMA and other proposed large facilities.

F Responding to the Challenge

New facilities are intended to address compelling scientific goals To meet those goals,astronomers must be able to take full advantage of the facilities Maximizing thescientific promise of new facilities requires substantial complementary activitiesincluding broadly based multi-wavelength observing programs, innovative theoreticalresearch to both motivate the facilities and interpret their output, and development ofinstrumentation to take advantage of new technologies, instrument design, and

computational power To quote from the AANM report “Starting construction without

an overall budget in hand for a complete program can spell lost opportunities for researchers who could capitalize on the powerful new capabilities; bare-bones

instrumentation efforts unable to move forward with technology developments; and operations funds inadequate to realize the scientific potential of the facility.”

The COV emphasizes that building the capacity of the astronomical community to realizethe full scientific potential of new facilities is as important as building the facilitiesthemselves The COV thus recommends that, as the Division pursues the facilitiespriorities of the AANM report, it respond with equal vigor to the capacity-building

priorities that are also articulated therein Special attention should be paid to the training

of the new generation of scientists who will be needed to make maximum use of the newfacilities The issue is how to meet the pressing need for the AAG program to maintainrough parity with the facilities budgets

The Division needs to develop the overall program in consonance with the enormous

appeal of the scientific goals outlined in the AANM and Physics of the Universe reports.

The Division may have the opportunity to grow the unrestricted AAG grants programsthrough participation in compelling national science initiatives as enunciated in thosereports Opportunities that could be associated with new programs are funds in the AAGprogram to dynamically respond to proposals motivated by new facilities and “theorychallenges” to explore the scientific prospects for a proposed facility with the intent ofguiding the design of the facility and its instrumentation The Division should have theflexibility to respond to new opportunities according to the goals and means ofimplementation outlined in the AANM report

The COV recommends that the Division continue to aggressively pursue its approach

to the priority initiatives of the AANM report with a flexible, balanced response This response should both advance the development of facilities and take advantage of opportunities associated with the scientific goals of those facilities to increase support for grants by means articulated in the AANM Decadal Survey and appropriate to the Division.

VI Programs

A Research Programs

General Discussion

The grants program is the prime example of the Division’s practice of dynamic balancing

in response to proposal pressure By going to a common proposal deadline for AAG

proposals, the Program Officers are able to convene review panels not according to someset prescription, but in accord with the distribution of proposal topics actually submitted.The COV strongly endorses this flexible approach The Program Officers are managingthis process with evident efficiency and zeal The FASTLANE and electronic jacketsystems seem to be functioning very well.

The COV supports the plan of the Division to consider a solicitation for all proposals tobetter establish the rules and expectations for the large variety of programs sponsored bythe Division The PREST program currently requires management plans, but mostprograms do not A solicitation might, for instance, spell out at what level of cost andcomplexity proposals to the Advanced Technologies and Instrumentation program shouldinclude a management plan The COV notes that the selection panel for proposals forlarge, multi-year hardware development should include a skill set appropriate for the non-science aspects of these proposals to enable assessment of technical and management risk

as part of the selection process

There is concern about the considerable required Division investment in non-dynamicallyallocated grant programs external to the Division, in particular those for whichopportunities and interest are essentially negligible in the astronomy community.Examples are ACT and BE The COV notes that Division funds could be used moreefficiently and directed to our community if the Division could determine the level offinancial involvement in interdisciplinary or Foundation-wide activities based on howwell matched they were to the interests of the astronomical community The MathScience Priority Area and ITR are examples where the Division was able to set the level

of Division involvement

There is a good balance in the research grants program between experienced PIs and newPIs The COV closely examined the rates of funding and the size of the grants for womenand minorities The COV is satisfied that no substantial discrepancies exist in this regard,and encourages the Division to continue to monitor this issue closely

Planetary Astronomy (PLA)

The planetary astronomy program provides funding for theoretical, observational, andlaboratory studies of the solar system, ranging from small bodies (comets, asteroids,Kuiper belt objects, and dust) to planets and their satellites, and the origins and evolution

of the solar system Most of the active awards at the end of FY2004 (31 out of 52) are inthe area of planets and satellites Theoretical investigations account for 27 of the 52active awards, and 18 awards were for purely observational studies Only two activeawards are in the area of laboratory investigations

The number of proposals and the budget for planetary astronomy both doubled in thethree-year period reviewed by the COV This indicates that the planetary astronomyprogram is in a healthy state, and that available funding is keeping pace with demandfrom the community Based on a review of a random sample of proposal jackets, theCOV concluded that the proposal review process for planetary astronomy is workingwell, and that review panels contain an appropriate breadth of expertise Given the broadrange of topics and techniques that fall within the purview of planetary astronomy, it isimportant that the expertise of the review panels should be complemented by externalreviews when appropriate.

Planetary astronomy offers special opportunities for cooperative programs with ATM and NASA that are not generally available to other disciplines in astronomy Therewere no such collaborative programs in the period under review, although discussions areunderway to establish such programs The COV encourages the development of thesecollaborative programs as a way to maximize the return on investment in planetaryastronomy research by the AST Division

NSF-Stellar Astronomy (SAA)

The Stellar Astronomy and Astrophysics Program (SAA) includes Panels addressing fivebroad categories: (1) Star Formation and Extrasolar Planets; (2) Compact Objects; (3)Properties of Stars; (4) Stellar Evolution, Massive Stars, and Supernovae; and (5)Fundamental Astronomy and Astrophysics The distribution of FY02-04 proposalsawarded in these five subject areas - 28%, 17%, 19%, 19%, and 17%, respectively - wasviewed by the COV as reflecting a very balanced SAA program Research supported inSAA includes theoretical, observational, and laboratory investigations pertaining to solarastronomy, stellar atmospheres and interiors, stellar evolution and planetary nebulae,massive stars and supernovae, star and planet formation, extrasolar planets, compactobjects, and binary stars and accretion-driven phenomena

The slightly greater emphasis on studies of Star Formation and Extrasolar Planets is ameasure of the current level of interest and excitement associated both with progress inthe very fundamental problem of star formation and with recent discoveries of extrasolarplanets In response to this increased level of interest and activity, the first panel devotedsolely to extrasolar planets (searches, properties) will become active in FY05

Galactic Astronomy (GAL)

The Galactic Astronomy Program (GAL) encompasses the five main subtopics of (1)Interstellar Medium, (2) Laboratory/Fundamental Astrophysics, (3) Clusters, StellarPopulations, and Abundances, (4) Galactic Structure, and (5) Nearby Galaxies Thesubtopic of Nearby Galaxies was added to GAL immediately prior to the previous COVreport, and we note that proposals in this area now represent roughly 20% of the awards

in GAL As modern instrumentation enables studies of nearby galaxies at a level ofdetail previously only possibly in the Milky Way, we find the addition of this subtopic tothe GAL program to be appropriate Indeed, comparative studies of the astrophysics ofthe Milky Way and other nearby galaxies are imperative to advancing our understanding

of the Universe as well as our very own Galaxy

Of the five main subtopics in GAL, the least proposal pressure (and consequently thelowest fraction of awards) is in the area of Laboratory/Fundamental Astrophysics, with9% of the total GAL awards in FY02-FY04 (this does not include awards administeredthrough CHE or PHY that are co-funded with AST funds) The committee expressedsome concern for maintaining active research in this area, and concern that thecommunity should be mindful that expertise in laboratory astrophysics does not becomeextinct

Within the GAL program, 26% of the awards are to female PIs (as voluntarily selfidentified), which is significantly above the AST average of 16% We also note that 8%

of the awards in GAL are to institutions that qualify as RUIs

Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology (EXC)

EXC supports research on galaxies both “normal” and active on gamma-ray bursts,and on the large-scale structure and evolution of the universe The number of proposals toEXC has increased by about 10% since FY2001 to an FY2004 total of 136, the largestamong the AST programs Of the 180 grants that were active in FY04, 44% wereobservational in nature, 46% theoretical, 8% a combination, and 2% were classified aslaboratory astrophysics

Projects supported within EXC include the following themes, with some overlap acrossthemes (1) Galaxies and clusters of galaxies: observations across the electromagneticspectrum, basic theory, and computer modeling, including N-body and smoothed-particlehydrodynamical simulations of galaxy and cluster formation and evolution; (2) Quasarsand other active galactic nuclei and gamma-ray bursts: monitoring of brightnessvariations and of changes in radio images on both long and short time scales, rapid-response observations of gamma-ray burst afterglows, and hydrodynamical andmagnetohydrodynamical simulations of relativistic jets; (3) Cosmology, including the

Cosmic Microwave Background and the Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effect and theoreticalmodels of the evolution of the universe; (4) Techniques such as spectral synthesis, plasmaprocesses, and atomic physics.

Reviews of many of the EXC proposal jackets by COV members indicated that theselection of panels was appropriate, and that both panel decisions and final decisions bythe program officer were well reasoned and explained The awards spanned a wide range

of topics, seniority of investigators, and emphasis on observation, theory, education, anddissemination of information to the public

The EXC program faces a number of issues that require careful attention These includethe maintenance and mining of extensive databases from large surveys, an increasingnumber of projects that require longer duration and stability than has been common in thepast, multi-institutional collaborative groups, increased need for computer codedevelopment, and inter-panel, inter-division, and inter-agency projects The recentappointment of a permanent Program Officer for EXC should bring the stability needed tomonitor the evolution of these complications and to guide their development such thatthey become assets rather than liabilities

Education and Special Programs – AAPF, CAREER, REU, RUI

Education and Special Programs deserve special mention for their success in increasingthe visibility and accessibility of astronomy at all levels of the educational system Ofparticular note are popular grants and programs that foster attention to astronomyresearch and education proceeding hand-in-hand (e.g., CAREER Grants, ResearchExperience for Undergraduates)

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The RET program at Green Bank (NRAO) called RARECATS is an example of theimpact that relatively small programs can have on fostering observational and researchskills in high school teachers who then pass that interest and enthusiasm on to students.The long term success of astronomy in the coming decades will require that attention bepaid not only to students at the undergraduate and graduate level, but to the younger K-12students who feed into those systems and to their teachers The Division has done acommendable job in highlighting the funding opportunities in ESP to astronomers atAAS meetings

The AAPF postdoctoral fellowship program is also a great success The COV supportsthe current NSF-wide re-examination of the allocation of funding for Fellows’ benefits18in order to make this process easier and more cost effective for the host institutions and

Fellows to implement The COV encourages the Division to continue their efforts to leadthe community in setting appropriate salary and benefits levels for postdoctoral scholars.

The COV recommends that the Division continue and expand its leadership role in fostering the next generation of scientists poised to take full advantage of new facilities.

Particle Astrophysics

The Division has successfully coordinated large, interdisciplinary, multi-agencyprograms like VERITAS for which complete management plans, report plans and jointreview of progress has been instituted The structure of the VERITAS Joint OversightGroup (JOG) is a model mechanism to facilitate complex interactions betweencommunity investigators, funding sources, and multi-agency oversight of cooperativeagreements

Instrumentation Programs – ATI/MRI, PREST

Approximately 15% of the Research and Instrumentation program grants were awardedthrough the instrumentation programs ATI and PREST during FY04 ATI funding grewmodestly over this period, and the PREST program was created in FY2004 The ATIprogram includes advanced technology development for science instruments and theirkey enabling technologies across all wavelength regions This research area is key to bothmaintaining the effectiveness of current Division research facilities and enabling longlead-time development of future facilities The recent discovery of seven edge-on planet-forming disks around nearby stars by an AAG-funded PI using an ATI funded multi-object spectrometer at NOAO facilities serves as an excellent example of the desiredinterplay between technology development and effective facility science

A diverse set of projects were funded by the ATI during this report period at levelsspanning a range of roughly $100,000 – $1,500,000 A review of randomly selected ATIproposal jackets revealed that the Division’s standard review process and associateddetailed record keeping extends to proposals in this category The COV finds that thisprocess is both of high quality and integrity with respect to general science researchproposals such as those in the AAG themes

The popularity of the PREST program is especially noteworthy and an excellent example

of a modest investment having enormous impact on the productivity of small college anduniversity-based telescopes

B National Observatories

General comments

The COV reviewed the portfolio of major research facilities currently funded by theDivision through cooperative agreements with organizations, including NRAO, NOAO,NSO, Gemini, and NAIC, and grants to universities for the funding of the URO’s,including CARMA Based on presentations by Division staff and extensive discussion,the committee was pleased with the return on investment that these facilities wereproviding to the astronomical community

The EPO and PIO offices of the national observatories coordinate their activities to asignificant degree The COV encourages the Division to continue to explore ways tounify these EPO efforts The COV notes that funds for EPO compete directly with thosefor research programs and facilities and that balance needs to be continually assessed

The COV recommends that the Division continue to explore ways to unify and expand the EPO efforts within and across observatory enterprises.

The Visitor Centers at the national observatories continue to attract large numbers ofvisitors The COV was especially impressed by the 120,000 visitors per year that trek toArecibo In addition, NRAO hosts over 60,000 visitors per year to all their sites NOAOand NSO together host well over 100,000 per year The Visitor Centers at NSF-sponsoredobservatories provide a valuable forum in which to educate the general public as well ascapture their interest in science and astronomy It is imperative that these centers be wellmaintained and kept up-to-date

National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO)

The COV is pleased to see the Division's pro-active adaptation to NOAO’s evolving role

in the community The NOAO/NSO cooperative management agreement was competed

in 2001, with AURA retaining management The explicit role of NOAO defined by thenew agreement specifically includes: data dissemination, development of facilities anddata analysis tools, and implementation of institutional partnerships to further itsobjectives These are in addition to: providing forefront observing facilities and support,scientific research by staff, and education and training programs Integrating these multi-faceted responsibilities with continuing appropriate balance is a challenge that has beenadmirably addressed by the Program Manager In particular, the NOAO oversight

structure is functioning smoothly, with observatory Users’ Committees and variousGemini advisory committees reporting to NOAO, the Observatories Council reporting toAURA, and an overall NOAO Program Review Panel reporting to NSF/AST The latter

is chartered by the new cooperative agreement and is providing valuable guidancedirectly to the Division NOAO has also developed a highly successful Program Plan andimproved communication with the community regarding their activities The COV notesthe formation of the NOAO Program Review Panel that reports directly to the Division as

an innovative approach to providing programmatic advice

The young TSIP program has proven a great success in facilitating development of PIinstruments on 6-m class telescopes, with community access provided as a condition forgrant funding A first example is set by the OSIRIS spectrometer that will shortly becommissioned at the Keck Observatory, in exchange for which nights have already beenoffered to the community through NOAO This program complements the MajorInstrumentation Program (MIP) for NOAO facility instruments A third program, theAODP, addresses the AANM report recommendation to provide funding for adaptiveoptics technology The previous COV report recommended that vital instrumentationprograms for 4-m class telescopes be maintained In response, NOAO and the Divisionhave worked together to expand the TSIP program to include 3 to 6-m class telescopes.NOAO has also established institutional partnerships through the MIP to developinstrumentation for NOAO 4-m class telescopes, for example, the NEWFIRM IR imagerand the proposed Dark Energy Camera, in collaboration with, respectively U Marylandand Fermilab These programs also demonstrate the potential success of institutionalpartnerships, which are mandated by the new management agreement

Addressing the responsibility for data dissemination and archiving, NOAO sponsors theData Products Program This program oversees the NOAO Data Archive and supportscertain NOAO data reduction pipelines and NVO-compatible data and software tools.The program is also appropriately planning for LSST data management The COVemphasizes that data management has, and must increasingly become, a major NOAOresponsibility

The previous COV expressed concern regarding the net reduction of peer-reviewedcommunity telescope time at NOAO, and the changing role and management of smalltelescopes We commend the Division for increasing community access to newinstrumental capabilities through the above institutional partnership programs, yet cautionthat the erosion of the total available competitively allocated community nights on extantNOAO telescopes continues The PREST program has also proved a great success atrestoring some community access to small telescopes for a modest financial investment

We note that proportionally the greatest loss in community telescope time has been on the

smallest aperture telescopes, which will most strongly affect education and trainingefforts In view of the difficult balance issues outlined above, which are greatlycompounded by financial constraints, the COV feels that Division management in thisarea is appropriate Overall, the number of available nights on all telescopes allocatedthrough national peer-reviewed processes supported by Division funds declined by 20%during the period 2002-2004 This decline was precipitated by the implementation ofcost-effective management models at NOAO Division initiatives through PREST andTSIP may stabilize the total number of nights available to the community that are not pre-committed to various programs.

Substantial NOAO involvement in planning for LSST and GSMT continues, withinstitutional consortia and Science Working Groups established Extremely largetelescopes (20 to 40-m class) are necessarily inter-institutional, and even international,undertakings The COV commends the Division’s initiative and leadership in sponsoring

an international agency meeting to address the science case and planning for suchprojects The COV strongly shares the Division’s concern that the community must fullyaddress the enormous financial, scientific, technical, and societal consequences andresponsibilities entailed by projects of this scale We emphasize that this is a primaryconcern to be addressed by the Senior Review These issues should also be at theforefront of those directly communicated by the Division to the community

Gemini

Gemini operates two twin 8-m telescopes, atop Mauna Kea (Hawaii) and Cerro Pachon(Chile) The Division provides funding for the U.S share of operations andinstrumentation The observatory operates a broad suite of optical and infraredinstruments available to the astronomical community These currently include at GeminiNorth Altair, a natural guide star adaptive optics system, GMOS, an optical multi-object spectrograph, Michelle, a mid-IR imager and spectrograph, and NIRI, a near-IRgrism spectrograph; and at Gemini South - GMOS, optical multi-object spectrograph,GNIRS, a near-IR spectrograph, Phoenix, a high-resolution near-IR spectrograph, T-ReCS, a mid-IR imager and spectrograph, and Hokupa'a-85, an adaptive optics system.Instruments to be commissioned over the next 14-month period include NIFS, a near-IRintegral field spectrograph, and NICI, a near-IR dual-channel coronagraphic imager with

an integrated adaptive optics bench In addition, the Gemini Observatory is rapidlymoving forward with the deployment of a Laser Guide Star upgrade for Altair, as well asimplementing the intial stages of a Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics (MCAO) system toexploit unique science opportunities enabled by AO correction over large fields of view(2.5-5 arcminute) in the focal plane of the telescope Development of the advanced AO

capabilities on Gemini has benefited from the exchange of expertise between theObservatory and the Center for Adaptive Optics (CfAO), an NSF funded center.

With these “first-generation” instruments and new AO capabilities, Gemini is now thepremier facility available through a peer-reviewed telescope time allocation process tothe general U.S community to conduct optical/IR observations with an 8-m classtelescope User support is therefore a mission-critical component of the facility Thisincludes a fully-documented and easily-navigable website with detailed specifications forall facility instruments, exposure time calculators, easy-to-use proposal preparation tools,visitor support services, science support personnel, and frequently updated data-reductionsoftware for IRAF The NOAO Gemini Science Center (NGSC, a division of NOAO)provides these services to the community as well as advocating the United Statesastronomical community’s scientific needs and aspirations within the internationalpartnership The proactive role that the Division Director, the Executive Officer, and theProgram Manager for the NOAO facilities portfolio have played in the maturation of theNGSC and its activities have benefited the community and assisted in the realization of

an internationally competitive 8-m class observatory first envisaged as a high nationalpriority by the decadal survey process

The facility maintains a number of performance metrics that include number of nightsavailable for science, image quality statistics, basic telescope performance (e.g., pointingand tracking accuracy), and number of publications arising from Gemini data

On the whole, the COV was positively impressed with the Gemini facility, itsperformance relative to established metrics, and the early impact of its science output Anactive public relations component appears to be successfully communicating Geminiscience to the public In addition, the recent Aspen Workshop, which brought togetherindividuals broadly representing the astronomical community in the Gemini partnership,

is a good model of community-based dialog providing direction to the facility’s scienceand instrumentation plans

The Division provides a critical leadership role in the governance of the observatory,serving as the Executive Agency of the Gemini partnership, and providing oversight ofGemini’s managing organization, AURA This leadership role provides strongpositioning for the U.S community in this multi-national project Indeed, suchpositioning may be critical to advancing community priority initiatives that increasinglyrequire such large-scale, multi-partner facilities The role of the Division generally and itsprogram officers specifically in participating in facility governance is an essential aspect

of the Division portfolio

The COV concluded that the Division’s active leadership in guiding the Geminipartnership through the telescope commissioning and initial operational phases was key

to maintaining the partnership and realizing a successful and internationally competitiveObservatory

National Solar Observatory (NSO)

The NSO operates solar telescopes at two major facilities: Kitt Peak in Arizona andSacramento Peak in New Mexico In addition, NSO operates the Global OscillationsNetwork Group (GONG), a network of telescopes distributed at six sites around theworld for the study of solar oscillations

The telescopes at Kitt Peak and Sacramento Peak have been the backbone of solarastronomy for many years Both low- and high-order adaptive optics systems are now inroutine use on the 76-cm Dunn Telescope at Sacramento Peak and the 150-cmMcMath/Pierce telescope at Kitt Peak These systems have significantly improved theimage quality that can be obtained with these telescopes, and they have increased theavailable observing time at both facilities

NSO also operates SOLIS (Synoptic Optical Long-Term Investigations of the Sun), anew suite of three telescopes co-located on the Kitt Peak Vacuum Tower SOLIS willprovide long-term observations that will help to address some of the major outstandingproblems in solar astronomy, including the cause of the solar cycle, the origin ofexplosive eruptions on the Sun, and the sources of variability in the solar radiative output.NSO is leading the ground-based effort to develop the Virtual Solar Observatory (VSO),with the first version released for public use in FY2004

NSO has completed the concept design for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope(ATST), a 4-m off-axis system that will replace existing major solar facilities when itbecomes operational ATST will provide major improvements over existing solartelescopes in both resolution and light-gathering power It will also provide excellentpolarization measurements and low-scattered light performance that will permitcoronagraphic observations in the IR ATST will allow solar astronomers to observe theSun at a spatial resolution comparable to the fundamental length scales of many physicalprocesses in the solar atmosphere The ATST site selection has been completed with therecommendation of Haleakala, HI as the location for the telescope The proposal forconstruction of the ATST is under review, although it appears unlikely that constructionwill begin in 2006 as planned

Solar astronomy has particular relevance to society, both for the enormous public interest

in detailed images of our nearest star, and for the influence of solar activity on the Earth space environment (space weather) The COV recognizes the vigorous programthat NSO is pursuing to advance solar astronomy in the 21st century, both in theenhancement of existing facilities and in the development of new capabilities NSO faces

near-a significnear-ant chnear-allenge in funding ATST until construction begins NSO is near-also fnear-acing theissue of consolidation of existing facilities when ATST is operational It is important thatconstruction of the ATST should commence as soon as possible, both to enable theseissues to be resolved and to enable the science return from ATST to be realized in atimely manner

National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC)

NAIC operates one site (plus remote offices at Cornell) at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, home ofthe 305-m radiotelescope NAIC supports radio and radar astronomical observations andatmospheric science research and hosts a heavily utilized education and outreach center.NAIC is the smallest of the national centers operated by the Division, with a total budget

of just over $12 million The facility has been jointly funded by the AST Division inconjunction with the ATM Division and NASA; however, the small NASA contribution

is being phased out, leaving approximately 80% of the support from AST

During the period under review by this COV, there were significant changes in themanagement of NAIC Most importantly, in 2004 the operation of NAIC was re-competed for the first time since the Division took over operations of NAIC The re-competition results will be presented to the NSB in March 2005 Additionally, theDivision has undertaken to increase the oversight of NAIC operations at Arecibo and willform an NSF task force to monitor the management of NAIC The COV noted that theDivision’s Program Manager has proactively established new progress reporting,program plan assessment, and observatory management mechanisms to improveaccountability and facilities stewardship The COV commends the Division for thesmooth handling of the recompetition and for its efforts in improving the oversight of thisfacility

The COV was also encouraged that improved management and operational efficiency ofNAIC may result from moving the Director’s office in Puerto Rico We encourage theDivision to continue to identify processes and mechanisms to enhance the return from thecurrent NAIC investments (i.e., user-friendly single dish reduction software, remote andqueue operations, exploitation of higher frequencies perhaps to 10 GHz) to the radio andradar communities

The observatory report to the COV highlighted the challenges faced by the observatory.The COV notes particularly the difficulty the observatory has in retaining staff members,given the remote and undeveloped location of the site.

The major operational improvements to NAIC over the 2002-2004 period resulted fromthe deployment of the (Australia-built) ALFA 7-beam correlator array This instrument,made possible by the Gregorian feed installation, dramatically speeds the sky coverage ofthe radiotelescope for surveys, and re-affirms the viability of the telescope for cutting-edge research As a confirmation of the importance of the facility, the COV notes thenearly 40% rise in the number of users over the period under review, as well as the near-doubling of PhD student users The development of remote observing interfaces hasserved to further expand the user base for the telescope NAIC has engaged its usercommunity to establish team collaborations to conduct large surveys with ALFA TheCOV notes that these consortia have a significant involvement of foreign investigatorsand encourages the Division to explore mechanisms to identify resources and partneringarrangements that support NAIC activities from foreign agencies and institutes thatsupport these scientists

The COV was particularly impressed with the functioning of the Angel Ramos NAICVisitor Center The 120,000 visitors annually to the site exceed those for other Divisionfacilities, despite the remote site of the observatory The Ramos Center represents amodel for other visitor centers

National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)

The NRAO currently operates four astronomical centers around the country,located in(1) Charlottesville, VA, (2) Green Bank, WV, (3) Socorro, NM and (4) Tucson, AZ As aresult of the closing of the 12-meter telescope, NRAO plans to close the Tucson office in

2006 Staff currently working on the ALMA project will be moved to Charlottesville to

be part of the ALMA operations center, now under construction

Green Bank, WV operates the Green Bank Telescope (GBT), now in early scientificoperations, and the 40-foot telescope used for education and training with summerschools The GBT has produced impressive scientific results and has the acquired fundsneeded to resolve structural issues with its track The Green Bank site also has a newlyexpanded visitor’s center, with a rich variety of educational programs that benefit K-12students, high school teachers, and amateur radio astronomers

The Array Operations Center (AOC) in Socorro, NM is responsible for the operation ofthe Very Large Array (VLA) and the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) These two

radio interferometers are unique world-class facilities that attract astronomers fromaround the globe Staff in Socorro have begun the transition to the Expanded VLA(EVLA), and plan to be able to effect the transition gradually, achieving a minimum ofdown time for the array According to current plans, the number of VLA telescopesavailable may dip to 23 during the telescope upgrade (in 2005-2006) The VLA dataarchive system has been modernized, and VLBA operations anticipate a change to disk-based recording (as a transition from the current tapes) Raw VLA archival data areavailable in a transparent manner to users.

NRAO headquarters are located in Charlottesville, VA, as is the Central DevelopmentLab (CDL) The Charlottesville site will see an infusion of new staff with theconstruction of the national ALMA operations center Some current staff from the Tucsonoffice (to be closed) will move to Charlottesville, and other new staff will be hired

The COV was impressed with the high quality of scientific results and with the scientificand operations staff within the National Radio Astronomy Observatory With over 1000observers from nearly 250 institutions authoring over 400 papers in 2003, the NRAOclearly has a large impact on the astronomical community NRAO has taken an activeapproach in Education and Public Outreach

Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA)

ALMA is a global project for which the Division represents NSF as the lead agency Thisinstrument should address a multidisciplinary set of issues from the origin and evolution

of stars and planets to the origin and evolution of galaxies The ALMA project brokeground in the fall of 2003, and as of September 2004 has added a new partner in theNational Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) Site work is underway, but noconstruction has started The project is suffering some of the consequences of the globalincrease in material costs since budgeting in 1999

As befits a complex global project, the organization and management are a specialchallenge The COV commends the Division for its leadership role in this regard TheDivision represents the NSF on the ALMA Board and appoints five North Americanmembers to the ALMA Management Advisory Committee (AMAC) and to the ALMAScience Advisory Committee While a single Executive Agency (the NSF) and a singleExecutive Intermediary (AURA) were possible with Gemini, no single Executive Agency

is possible with ALMA because of the complex partnerships The result has been theinvention of unique organizational structure in which the NSF participates in the ALMABoard The Board acts as an oversight committee, but must not preempt U.S governmentprerogatives, especially regarding the budget Achieving this balance and satisfying the